Researchers at the University of Bonn, examining fossils unearthed in the Swiss Alps, revealed that the remains belonged to the largest marine reptile ever known, ‘Ichthyosaur’. It has been proven for the first time that the ichthyosaur species has reached such dimensions.
Mosasaurus, also known as the Maas Lizard, is from today lived millions of years ago It was a giant crocodile-like marine reptile thought to be Its name and structure may sound familiar, because a Mosasaurus-like creature was also featured in the movie Jurassic World.
Researchers thought these creatures were the largest marine reptile ever discovered. However, a study found that a much larger species than Mosasaurus sea reptile unearthed his remains.
Remains of largest marine reptile found in Swiss Alps
In the group of creatures classified as marine reptiles, the largest creature that lived in the past was thought to be the Mosasaurus species. Martin Sander and Pablo Romero Perez de Villar from the University of Bonn managed to refute this thesis with their research. With the results of a meticulously conducted study in the Swiss Alps fossils of the largest marine reptile ever discovered revealed.
Researchers were shocked by the results of the examinations they carried out on the teeth, rib fragments and possible spines they found. According to the results of the research published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, these gigantic teeth and spine fragments belonged to an ichthyosaur (Ichthyosaur) 21 meters long. This too The marine reptile has almost the same dimensions as Megaladon, which is considered one of the largest sea creatures. shows that. Of course, the Blue Whale is still the largest sea creature, with a length of 33 meters and a weight of more than 150 tons.
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Another thing that surprised the researchers was that until now there was no evidence that ichthyosaurs could have been that large. The team says the ichthyosaurs may have shrunk in size over time. It is estimated that ichthyosaurs lived about 57 million years ago, making their fossils extremely difficult to find. Another interesting subject of the research is the ichthyosaurs, which are thought to have gigantic teeth. It is possible that both toothed and toothless species may have lived at the same time. is showing. It is expected that the new information obtained will shed light on the studies to be carried out in the coming days.
Source :
https://www.slashgear.com/849191/researchers-may-have-just-identified-the-largest-ancient-marine-reptile/